I don't believe Sabena flies across the pond anymore. With the new high speed rail line between Amsterdam and Paris becoming operational this Spring, I think the travel time between downtown Brussels and Schiphol will be about 1 hour 40 minutes, and Brussels to CDG is even less. That kind of time may inhibit any return of Sabena trans-Atlantic services.

__________________A man gazing on the stars is at the mercy of the puddles in the road

kmp1284: You forgot Icelandair's daily 757 service to Keflavik (KEF/BIKF) near Reykjavik. I think they also ran this service in the summer with their newly acquired 767. Also, I think Lufthansa's winter schedule (I haven't checked the schedule since my flight last Halloween) is currently a daily 747-400 to Frankfurt (FRA/EDDF). I left for Germany on Oct 19, when there were three scheduled Boston flights (two Frankfurt, one Munich, all A340-300) and returned on Oct 31, the second day of their winter schedule of one daily from Frankfurt, on a very full 747-400.

stellarfun: SABENA doesn't fly anywhere anymore, it went out of business in November of 2001. It was too bad, it was a nice little airline; their service was excellent.

I totally forgot about IcelandAir, they aren't exactly that memorable. I think the 767 comes in a few days a week, I know at least last year it did San Francisco once or twice a week. That seems about right for Lufthansa's winter schedule, as I pointed out the difference with this summer relative to last is the replacement of one 340-300 with a -600 which has 66 Business Seats and 279 Econ, compared to the -300 with 44 and 222.

Icelandair has also increased capacity to Boston next summer, with their usual daily flight and an earlier morning flight. Not sure what the frequency for the 2nd flight is though, possibly 5x a week. I suspect Boston is one of their stronger station as the 767 would fly here in summer and it would be quite packed.

Logan International Airport officials said yesterday they have landed a third nonstop flight to Europe in May, with five times a week service to Madrid aboard Spanish national airline Iberia.

Boston has not had regular nonstop service to Madrid in 22 years, according to the Massachusetts Port Authority , which runs Logan. Iberia offered one to three flights weekly between 1983 and 1985 before pulling out. The new service, starting May 6, will be on 260-seat Airbus A340s , Logan spokesman Phil Orlandella said.

The newest moves will bring the number of international destinations served nonstop from Logan to 35. Massport officials over the past year have been working aggressively to widen the roster of international flights out of Logan, particularly Europe, to increase overall business .

" We're seeing the first fruits of a major effort to get international airlines back into Boston, and it also shows with the right kinds of marketing efforts, there is tremendous interest in Massachusetts" as a tourist destination in many European and Asian countries, said William H. MacDougall , chief executive of Tourism Massachusetts, a nonprofit organization that promotes the state abroad.

Tourism Massachusetts ran a $150,000 marketing campaign in Spain, MacDougall said, that bolstered Massport's efforts to persuade Iberia to make Boston its fourth US destination along with Chicago, Miami, and New York.

David Soskin , chief executive of CheapFlights.com, which runs Boston- and London-based airfare shopping websites, said he thinks direct Madrid service will work in Boston, both for people vacationing in Spain and others connecting at Barajas International Airport to other destinations in Europe or North Africa .

"There is a good route network out of Madrid to other parts of Europe, and there are phenomenal destinations in Spain for cultural tourism," Soskin said. "My guess is that a large chunk of the business will be tourists visiting Spain for the first time."

Iberia's website late yesterday did not list which five days the flights will operate or fares, and the airline's US spokesman could not be reached. Orlandella said that flights will leave Boston for Madrid at 6:20 p.m., with the return flight from Madrid arriving at 3:40 p.m.

__________________A man gazing on the stars is at the mercy of the puddles in the road

''Delta offers Boston customers more flights to more destinations than any other airline and we're pleased to add Charlottetown to the exciting line-up of nonstop destinations offered from Boston this summer,'' said Bob Cortelyou, Delta's vice president - Network Planning.

In addition to providing convenient access for customers in Boston and Charlottetown to fly between their historic hometowns, the new flights also connect Charlottetown to Delta's worldwide network of destinations with convenient connections in Boston. Each day, Delta offers customers more than 100 flights to 33 destinations from Boston, including frequent connections to the airline's largest international hubs at Atlanta and New York-JFK where customers can connect onward to nearly 300 worldwide destinations.

Customers flying the new Charlottetown-Boston route also will enjoy the extensive amenities afforded by Delta's new Terminal A facility at Logan Airport, including business services, shopping and restaurants. The new terminal boasts state-of-the-art technology to ensure a convenient travel experience for customers, including 32 self-service kiosks, gate information display screens at every gate and two Crown Room Clubs.

Delta's new Charlottetown flights are available for sale at delta.com and via other ticketing channels beginning today and are scheduled as follows

Today, Delta offers passengers the most flights to the most destinations from Boston compared to any domestic airline. With the February schedule, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer 112 peak-day departures to 33 nonstop destinations. As a member of the SkyTeam(r) global alliance, Delta offers Boston customers the ability to fly non-stop to key business and leisure destinations in Europe aboard SkyTeam partners Air France and Alitalia.

In the last year, Delta has added nonstop service to nine new markets from Boston, in addition to expanded service to Baltimore. Delta is the No. 1 carrier in seat capacity at Boston and offers customers non-stop access to six Florida cities -- Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach -- in addition to an extensive schedule of flights to Delta's hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City and transcontinental flights to Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Does anyone know what happened to the Boston-China route proposed by Hainan Airlines? All the articles from when the route was announced (early 2006) say a deal was reached between Hainan and Massport and flights would start by late 2006. Menino even included it in his inaugural address! Did they end up not getting FAA approval?[/quote]

JetBlue Airways Corp. will begin offering service from Logan International Airport on May 1 to Bermuda and to the North Carolina financial services center, one day after its seasonal service to Puerto Rico from Boston ends.

While the Bermuda service will be seasonal, ending Oct. 31, JetBlue said it plans to make the daily round trip to Charlotte permanent, creating the first direct challenge to US Airways, which runs nine daily flights from Boston to its southeastern hub.

The service launches come as JetBlue has been working to move past public outrage over a week long system meltdown and 1,000 canceled flights following a Feb. 14 snowstorm. The airline last week unveiled a "passenger bill of rights" guaranteeing cash rebates and free flights for severely delayed passengers.

Allen Michel , a management professor at Boston University who studies the aviation industry, predicted both routes will be well patronized for JetBlue and also help change the subject from its recent snow woes.

"JetBlue is going to come out of these service problems they've had very, very successfully," Michel said, thanks to public goodwill from its first seven years of low-priced operations and popular onboard amenities like satellite television.

Michel said Bermuda is a perfect example of a resort destination where cheaper fares can drive increased overall business, both for JetBlue and Delta, and the Charlotte service could push US Airways to cut fares. "One flight a day may not create a significant mass, but US Air would be pretty smart to hit the pricing head-on and try to make it tough for JetBlue to get a significant return" and expand service, Michel said.

US Airways controls 76 percent of the Boston-Charlotte market and charges an average fare of $297 round trip, according to FareReport.com, a travel website that analyzes Transportation Department data on domestic routes. JetBlue said it will charge fares as low as $168 round trip to Charlotte, and its website yesterday had several $208 round trips in May, generally about $20 to $70 less than many US Airways flights.

To Bermuda, JetBlue said it will offer fares as low as $198 round trip. Its website late yesterday showed $258 round trip fares for several weekend non stop flight combinations from Boston in May, compared with typical $378 fares on Delta.

Thomas J. Kinton Jr. , the executive director of the Massachusetts Port Authority , which runs Logan, said, "We couldn't be happier to add JetBlue to our family of airlines offering international service, and we look forward to working with them as they continue to grow at Logan," Kinton said.

One potential big source of traffic on the Boston-Charlotte route is Hub workers for Bank of America Corp., which acquired FleetBoston Financial Corp. in 2004. Bank of America is headquartered in Charlotte, and Boston is home to its wealth management division.

From Boston, JetBlue's Charlotte flight will leave at 8:10 a.m. and return to Boston at 10:55 a.m. The Bermuda flight will leave Boston at 10:40 a.m. and return for Boston at 2:45 p.m. Atlantic time.

With the San Juan seasonal service being shut down, the addition of the two flights will bring to 24 the number of destinations served non stop by JetBlue from Boston. It's also adding service to San Francisco on May 3.

On both routes, JetBlue will offer service on 100-seat Embraer 190 jets. JetBlue is also increasing service from Portland International Jetport in Maine to its John F. Kennedy International Airport home base in New York, adding a fifth daily flight between June 15 and Sept. 4. Rival AirTran Airways this week said it would begin offering summer service from Portland in early June to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Orlando.

Well, it seems that cargo service has officially started. Is passenger service to come? I would be surprised if it does come to fruition. I expect Tokyo to be the first Asian destination nonstop from Logan.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino were at Logan Thursday afternoon for the inaugural air cargo flight from Boston to Shanghai, China. They were joined by representatives from Massport and Yangtze River Express, the airline that will offer the service.

The flight marks the first direct air service of any kind between New England and China, according to a statement from Massport. The flight will provide new opportunities to promote the export of Massachusetts products to the booming Chinese markets, Massport officials said.

Direct Boston-Shanghai air cargo service is strongly supported by Massachusetts exporters, importers, and shippers, the group said.

The one time I flew to Israel from Boston, I ended up connecting in Montreal's (now-closed) Mirabel airport. Didn't even touch the ground or enter a terminal -- just walked through a jetway from one plane directly to another.

Several European news services reported today that executives at Ryanair, a low cost European airline, are working on launching a transatlantic airline between Europe and "secondary" US airports serving such markets as Providence and Baltimore within a few years.

Attempts by the Globe to reach Ryanair were unsuccessful.

According to Reuters, Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary briefed reporters about such possible low-cost transatlantic tickets during a flight from Dublin to Germany.

The Irish Examiner reported that the Irish airline intends to "launch services to a number of secondary airports such as Long Island in New York, Rhode Island in New England, and Baltimore."

Reuters quoted O'Leary as suggesting that a ticket to New York could cost 10 euro, or $13.45.